Monkey Businessmen

"A marvelously slimy villain with a fine theatrical voice who usually ended up being pelted with tomatoes,pies,or other objects".

That was how Leonard Maltin described Kenneth Mac Donald,who makes his ONLY film with Curly here. Curly's health was in the off-on period but plenty of supporting cast actors provide the sparks he has trouble with---Fred Kelsey as an angry client;Cy Schindell as a so-called nurse;and the man in t he wheelchair is Snub Pollard(who was a big cheese in the silent era).

The Stooges decide to check into a rest sanitarium---but it's a con job designed to make MacDonald's bank account healthy;but not the patients. The steamroom scene is very well-staged.

And Curly does get in one of his patented puns----"We'll get some grease.....spill it on the floor...and slip by !"

This short is most notable because of Curly's bad health. It's his worst showing. He couldn't remember any of his lines and the film had to be shot one line at a time for him. You can even see Moe coaching Curly before some of his lines. His energy and language are notably low and slow due to strokes he had prior to the 7 month rest taken before this was shot. The slapstick was kept to a minimum for his benefit. It's not that there isn't any humor in the movie, it's not bad, it's just that you could see that a change would be necessary in the near future to keep the act going. Adding Shemp, was perfect, he was great in a different way. Rarely could a team replace a character member so successfully.

Monkey Businessmen has Moe, Larry, and Curly as failed electricians after really bungling a job it's decided they need a rest to get back their edge. Their edge in God knows what.

They go to the sanitarium for a rest cure but upon getting there discover that the head of the place is really a crook out to bilk rich clients. And poor ones like the 3 Stooges. This is an outrage that has to be dealt with in timely stooge fashion. First they have to get out of the joint.

Character actor Kenneth MacDonald who had a rich, varied, and active career on the big screen and small did several 3 Stooges shorts. In this one as the crooked doctor MacDonald gets no small amount of laughs himself.

Sad to say though that Curly was pretty ill at this point and Moe had to coax his brother through this one. You can't tell however, I think this is one of their best short subjects.

In the Stooges' June 1946's "Monkey Businessmen," director Edward Bernds was well aware of Curly's deteriorating health. As a scriptwriter for many of their shorts, Bernds used creative editing to make it appear he's rather lucid. This was the first movie the Stooges shot after their seven-month break from the studio. Bernds was thinking Curly would be much improved after their "vacation," but his high hopes were dashed when the comic arrived on the set. In "Monkey Businessmen," related Bernds, "Curly was at his worst. Moe coached him the way one would a child, getting him to repeat each line after him. We had to shoot Curly repeating one line at a time." The Three Stooges end up in a rest home in "Money Businessmen" after their ruinous work as electricians inspired them to take a relaxing break. They find the Mallard's Rest Home through an ad, but the place is really a scam fleecing anyone who can afford its regimen of exercise and skimpy meals-just milk. Moe took it upon himself to coach his brother throughout the production, nudging him when it came time to say his lines while rehearsing endlessly to say simple sentences. In one scene, Curly unknowingly turns up the heat while Moe and Larry are locked in a steam room. He follows a sexy nurse into an adjacent room before he busts through the door, thrown out by the uncompromising nurse. His scripted dialogue after he realizes his pals are boiling like lobsters in a pot read "Moe and Larry." Instead, Curly suddenly remembers his line by saying, "I know-Moe and Larry!" He proceeds to the glass door of the scorching sauna where Moe finger-points Curly's eyes through the glass, the only time director Bernds ever scripted the trademark finger poke. He said he avoided the routine because he didn't want children to copy the maneuver.

The Three Stooges has always been some of the many actors that I have loved. I love just about every one of the shorts that they have made. I love all six of the Stooges (Curly, Shemp, Moe, Larry, Joe, and Curly Joe)! All of the shorts are hilarious and also star many other great actors and actresses which a lot of them was in many of the shorts! In My opinion The Three Stooges is some of the greatest actors ever and is the all time funniest comedy team!

Kenneth MacDonald is very good as the villain or the bad doctor. Jean Willes is very good to and she is different in this one and she looks great as well! Also in this Three Stooges short is Fred Kelsey, 'Snub' Pollard, Cy Schindell, Wade Crosby, and Rocky Woods. This is a very funny Three Stooges short especially the scenes where The Stooges are acting like doctors! I recommend this one!